The Louisiana Democrat., 1887-01-19
SWISS HOME LIFE.
Beautiful Children Who Are Lin
gusts and Merchants.
Their Rude Valley Schools-Industrious
and Cheerful Lace Makers - The
Long, "Gay" Winters-Farm-
ing on the Sides of
Mountains.

Mountains.
Every Swiss child, no matter what
his or her position or condition in life,
knows how to read and write-if he is
capable of learning how. | have been
surprised to see how rapidly many of
of the guides and donkey boys can read
any handwriting, or how quickly they
will spell or write the name of any place
or mountain inquired about. l have
been frequently assured by our drivers
and guides that all children mu st 90 to
school three months in year. The law
they said was selr, selw strong (very
strict about that; none could be eX-
cused. | have been told; too, that now
every Swiss child was required to learn
German, whether it was the language
of the canton in which he lived or not,
and nearly all whom l have met could
speak either French or German, or
would answer in the language in which
/ addressed them, unless, quickly per-
ceiving by my accent that l was English
or American, they would answer q
question put to them in French or Ger
man in English.
In one of the deepest of these valleys,
into which the sun can only send its
rays q very few hours in the longest
DAYS of summer, and in winter scarcely
at all, went into the little school
house of the valley. 1t was chilly,
cheerless place, but there was black
board, and maps were on the wall.
The narrow STRAIGHTFORWARD seats, Of
the cheapest construction, seemed such
contrast to those pleasant, COM
Portable desks and seats with which
nearly all our little country school
houses are now furnished; such a con-
trast to our bright school-rooms fur
nished, often, with globes and pict-
ures, many of them with flowers, that
could not but with little vanity con-
gratulate myself with having at home,
in our country, the best schools in the
world. Only that terrible scarifyer
of statistics which | found in French
magazine, comparing our own reports
as to the numbers who could not read
and write in some of our so-called most
enlightened States that boast of Won
derful school system, with like reports
of various countries in Europe, quite
took boastful spirit out of me. School
houses are not schools, and the latter
must be estimated according to what
they do for the people who are taught
in them.
Every little toddling in Switzerland
must also earn its living as soon as il
can lisp its own name, either in some
work on in taking care of one younger
than itself. All along the roadside
through the valleys are little boare
shelters where, on shelves thus protect
ed, wood carvings and Swiss lace art
offered for sale, or little bright-eyed
slender-imbed chamois. tended b.
some child, is to be seen for few cent
INES to be added to the store, which il
to keep these people from starvation
during the long winter, for which the.
must look out with care.
Under one of these sheds to-day
saw two little girls. who had it il
charge, and stopped to speak wit
them. Both were making lace, thei
little fingers flying so that 1 coul
hardly see them, as they handled tn
bobbins, any more than the spokes of
wheel in full motion, and the smalles
of these children was no larger than ar
most children at five years old in on
country, though she told me she wa
eight. When | patted the little hea
and expressed surprise that such lii
tie thing should be able to make lac
so nicely, the older sister tol
me with loving pride, tha
Anna had earned her own living b
laee-working already for two year:
They begged me to buy th
piece saw her making, "for there al
five of us, they said; "two younge
than we are, and we are sehr ar7ae, trt
paurre, very poor" they said, trying
in three languages. to make me con
prehend the situation and induce me
buy. Both could read and write, the
told me.
''And where is your mother?"
asked She was in the field. and the
father was ''trager,n i. G., one VIII
stays about the hotels and gets any 10
tnat comes to hand of carrying people
afraid or unable to go up the mountai
on horseback or on mules, up in
chair set upon q litter. borne by tw
such men for exactly the same price a
Is paid for a horse and the one ma
who leads him up with the man Q
woman on his back. Or .'trager
carries up their trunks upon his shou
da, uhila tba,y thuc ,,i1o M h0rna n